​Caring for the Whole Person

Persons in our congregations, communities, and hospitals are loved, wanted and worthy, and will be prepared and supported in health and serious illness through the end of life.

1. Strengthen and improve the availability of whole person care and palliative care services in Catholic health care systems and their hospitals, and

2. Develop and implement Whole Person Care and palliative care programs in dioceses and parishes.

“As Church and Catholic health care leaders in California, we believe that physician-assisted suicide, while legal, is not yet an entrenched cultural or clinical reality. Recognizing this, we are committed to developing together, and in collaboration with other leaders in the palliative care field, a medical and pastoral approach to care through the end of life that provides a dignified, compassionate, and loving alternative to physician-assisted suicide for seriously ill people and their families. Our intent is to create a Church and Catholic health care collaborative model that serves our California parishioners and patients well, and that can be replicated by Church and Catholic health care leaders in other states.”